


don't mess with family

by lemonheadlester



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 00:10:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19712353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonheadlester/pseuds/lemonheadlester
Summary: Phil gives his daughter advice and things don't turn out so well





	don't mess with family

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for the @phandomficfests kidfic fest. Thank you to @writtennotsung (@cozydnp on tumblr) as always for being an amazing beta.

Phil listens to the pounding rain and howling wind of the storm, staring out the window. Ever since the rain started, he could no longer focus on his book. He was too distraught with the impatience he had in waiting for the return of his husband and daughter.

Usually Riley takes the bus home, but Dan thought it would have been best if he picked her up instead. She has an umbrella, but no one would want to walk in a storm as bad as this.

“Typical England.” Phil mutters to himself. He imagines all of the other kids whose parents are unable to pick them up, and it hurts him just a little. 

Before being a father, he would have seen those children walking through the rain and he wouldn’t have given it another thought. The fact of the matter is that now, the simplest of things could bring back that familiar twang of anxiety in his chest. 

He stares out the window, trying to drown out the pouring of the rain as he stands under a trance of sorts, thinking, overthinking, and trying to fend off any irrational thoughts as best as he can. _It's just a storm._ He reminds himself, trying to focus on his breathing. _Nothing to worry about._

Yet, he still can't help but worry. _What if the rain is too heavy for anyone to drive very well and they get in an accident? What if they get struck by lighting? What if this? What if that? What if-_

Phil yelps and turns around as the front door opens. The speaking of boots and a familiar high pitched voice can be heard.

"..and he wouldn't shut up. He was so annoying! He kept making balls out of paper and throwing then at me, and the teacher never saw!"

Dan hangs his coat before bringing Phil in for a quick kiss.

"How was the drive?" 

Dan scoffs and ruffles Riley's hair, to which she mumbles a quiet 'hey!'

"Some people just shouldn't be allowed to drive." He jokes. 

"Daddy!" Riley chirps as she drops her bag by the door. A cheerful little girl with platinum blonde hair, blue eyes and a big smile.

Dan and Phil's daughter.

On a normal day, Phil would scold her for not wiping her shoes on the rug, but he was too anxious to even notices she had made the mistake again. His mind is wiped of all doubts as he smiles as he meets his daughter's gaze and kneels with open arms. She runs to him and hugs him tight. 

"How was school?" He asks softly. 

"Riley, honey." Dan interrupts swiftly with a smile as he turns her around. "Take your coat off, you're soaking your father." 

Riley tugs it off and quickly hangs it up before running back to Dan and Phil to sit between them on the couch. 

Phil places a hand on her shoulder. "So what's this I hear about a boy throwing paper at you?"

"His name's Alan, and he's mean to all of us! He throws sticks at us at recess when adults aren't looking. He stole one kid's lunch money and when he complainer to the teacher he said it was his and she believes him over the kid he stole it from. He even took Lizzy's Pokemon cards and threw them in the trash!" She pauses to catch her breath. 

"He's a "star student" she exaggerates those words and does air quotes with her fingers to indicate this is something a teacher said. "so he's like, a teacher's pet or something. They always side with him and he never gets caught and it's so anno-" Her voice raises to the point where Dan and Phil art both shushing her and trying to calm her down. 

"Woah, Riley." Phil picks her up and holds her in his lap when he notices the tears in her eyes. "Slow down." 

"He's so mean." She sniffles. "Why is he so mean?" 

"That's just the way some people are." Dan explains, attempting to comfort her by rubbing her back. "But if you don't give bullies the satisfaction of a reaction then they'll leave you alone."

"But what about everyone else?" She lifts her head from Phil's shoulder and gazes at him inquisitively. 

Phil smiles when she asks that question. Dan always said she gets her selflessness from Phil. he lets a small giggle out him despite himself. 

"Maybe you shouldn't worry too much about him." Phil suggests. "If you stay out of his way then maybe he'll eventually stop."

"And if not," Dan adds. "He's bound to be caught by a teacher one day if he keeps it up."

"Riley." Phil's directs her attention back to him. "If it becomes a serious problem, tell us and we'll meet with your teacher."

Riley wipes her eyes with her wrist and nods.

"Okay."

Phil chuckles and let's her climb over to Dan and hug him as well. She's never had a favourite, as far as Dan and Phil could tell. She's a smart kid, and they never really had any issues. 

Then again, she's only nine. They say I'll have a long road ahead of them 

"So other than that, did anything good happen today?" Phil asks her.

She sits up and rolls away from Dan so that she's sat in between the two of them again. "Well…" she starts. "I don't know."

"Why don't you tell him about your project?" Dan suggests. "You sounded so excited about it in the car."

"Oh yeah!" She remembers what he's referring to. "We have to do experiments for science! We all have to come up with our own experiment and write reports about it."

"Hm" Phil hums. "Sounds interesting."

"And tell him what you said you wanted to do yours on." Dan urges. He then looks up at Phil mouths 'you'll love this.'

"I want to grow flowers!" She reveals. "I only have a week so they won't grow all the way but I want to see which is the best way to grow them."

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Phil smiles at Dan as he giggles, knowing fully well what he's about to say.

"I think your father would be happy to help you." He snickers. "Considering he already has an obsession with houseplants."

"I do _not_ have an obsession!" Phil retorts with an offended tone. He wants to act annoyed, but Riley's laughter is enough to make him smile.

Dan stands up. "I'll get dinner started then." 

"Riley, go get your bag and get started on your homework." Phil ushers her off the couch. "I'll go order some seeds. Do you have a preference?" 

"No, you pick!" She calls back to him as she heads down the hallway. 

Phil smiles. His expression softens. 

Nothing hurts more than seeing your child upset.

Then again, nothing takes the pain away more than seeing them smile. 

He follows Dan into the kitchen and wraps his arms around his waist, eyes still focused on the now-empty hallway.

"I guess we did something right." He whispers, kissing him just above his ear. 

Dan sighs in response, turning around to kiss Phil properly. 

"Yeah, I guess we did."

-

The day before Riley's project is due she comes home with a strange attitude. She heads straight for her room, without even acknowledging Dan or Phil. She doesn't come out at all, not even when Dan hollers down the hallway that dinner's ready. 

_Maybe she had a stressful day._ Phil thinks as he stares at her bedroom door. Besides, she _does_ have a project due in the morning. 

But that doesn't make any sense to Phil. They worked together on the whole thing. They grew petunia flowers in little containers of soil, and she watered them every day. She put half of them outside and the other half inside, and she recorded everything. 

She had Phil's help, of course, but she took charge of it. She sounded so confident when she read her final report to him and Dan. It was well written too, for a nine-year-old. She has an A+ project and she knows it. 

So why then, Phil wonders, is she suddenly so down? 

"Go talk to her." Dan tells him as he shovels a spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth. 

Phil sighs. Before he leaves he decides to make Riley a plate to bring to her, that is if he can convince her to eat. Dan was always the more forceful parent, Phil was always the softer one.

He approaches the door and hesitates. His eyes catch sight of the sign that reads _Riley's Room,_ which she made and decorated herself. He stares at the flowery pattern as he raises his fist to gently knock on the door, other hand occupied with a dinner plate.

 _Knock._ "Riley?" _Knock knock._ "I brought you your dinner." 

Phil hears a muffled groan from the other side of the door.

"Can we talk?"

There's a moment of silence before the door opens to reveal a very tired and distraught looking child. She doesn't even make eye contact with Phil, she just runs back to collapse on her bed and bury her face in her pillow.

Phil frowns and follows. He hates seeing her like this.

"Riley." He tries again. "It's okay if you're not hungry, I'll just leave this here." He places the plate on her nightstand and sits down on the edge of the bed. 

"What's wrong?" He pushes, rubbing her shoulder. "You can tell me."

Riley lifts her head up and reluctantly crawls to the edge of the bed and sits next to Phil, looking up at him. Judging by the wetness on her pillow and the redness in her eyes, Phil can tell she's been crying.

"Riley…"

"It's him again." She blurts. 

"That kid you told us about the other day?" Alan?"

"The teacher had him present his project a day early. They knew he was already done with it." 

Phil urges Riley to continue as he rubs the back of her head. 

"It was perfect, the teacher said." She huffs. "You guys should take everything he does as an example."

"I just hate him so much." She starts to cry as she really lets it all out. "As soon as no one was looking and he sat back down he threw a paper airplane at the back of my head and whispered 'losers' to me and Lizzy, and when the teacher looked up she saw the airplane had landed on my desk and assumed it was mine. She threw it out and the whole class laughed at me."

"Did you try telling her it wasn't yours?" Phil asks.

"I did! She didn't believe me when I told her it was Alan's. Said it was wrong of me to try and pick on someone to avoid getting in trouble."

Phil looks into her eyes with sympathy. Of course everyone deals with bullies, there's no avoiding it, but he just wishes there was something he could do.

"Do you need me to get involved?" He wonders. Parent teacher meetings make him anxious but he could care less in a situation like this. "I can meet with your teacher and-"

"No, she's just going to accuse me of lying to you."

She pauses and leans on Phil, wrapping her arms around him.

"What do I do? If no one believes me?"

"Well, maybe you could try talking to this kid." 

"I can't. He'll just get me in trouble again."

"Do you think he would listen if you asked him to stop?"

Riley wipes her tear stained cheek and thinks. 

"...maybe."

"Try that then." Phil tells her. "If that doesn't work and he does something else then your dad and I will meet with your teacher."

Riley practically climbs on to of Phil to hug him. He laughs contentedly and presses a kiss to the top of her head. 

-

The next day, Phil can barely focus on working. 

He was grateful when the BBC allowed him to start working from home. That way he could pay more attention to Dan and Riley, but today he almost wishes he had a boss up his arse to yell at him and keep him from worrying about other things. 

Dan comes into the office a little past noon to distract him with reassuring words and a brief make-out session, but it doesn't take long before Phil's mind is elsewhere again. 

He has a bad feeling that he just can't shake, and right now he could care less about editing some stupid documentary. If he's being honest, he doesn't even know what it's about and he's been working on it for hours. 

He eventually gives up for the day and goes and finds Dan in the lounge. He snuggles up next to him on the sofa and joins him in watching the newest episode of bake-off. He's even almost able to take his mind off things until it happens.

The front door opens and slams shut, indicating that a very upset Riley is home. 

Phil sits up and snaps his head around to see her, not just in tears, not just a little upset, no. She's sobbing when she glances in Phil's direction before running to him and crashing into his arms, tears streaming down her face, so red it looks like she has sunburn. 

"Riley...what happened?" Phil gasps as he holds her tightly. Her cries rip out of her so harshly that her voice is hoarse and broken down by the time she starts blubbering.

"I di-did wha..what you said." She sniffles. "I asked him to leave me alone but it didn't work." 

"He pushed me and took my report when the teacher wasn't looking, and then I tr-tried to get it back grim him when she saw and yelled at me for starting fights in class."

"And then he-" she let's another onslaught of cries out before she can finish. "He tore my papers as soon as the teacher turned around. He crumples it up and threw it away and I couldn't stop him because I was going to get yelled at again."

 _Her report._ Phil realizes, staring at Dan with disbelief. _That little brat destroyed all her hard work._

"When it was my turn to present I tried to tell her what happened but she just told me to stop taking excuses for not doing my project and gave me an F. I tried not to cry but I did anyway and everyone laughed at me. Then Alan called me a crybaby." 

Phil is in shock by the time she's finished and crying softly into his shirt. 

How dare that kid hurt his little girl like that. And how dare her teacher side with him. 

"We'll get this all sorted out." He assures Riley. "We'll go talk to your teacher tomorrow."

"It doesn't matter, none of it matters." She cries. 

"Of course it does." Phil tries to explain. "We'll tell her what happened, I'll tell her that you and I worked together on the whole project and I'll get her to change your grade. It's all going to be okay."

"I don't _care_ what my grade is!" She suddenly snaps, causing both Dan and Phil's mouths to drop. 

She's never angry, not like this. 

"We spent a week on that and I spent all night on that report! It was all for nothing!" She sobs. "Now she'll never take me seriously."

"She will then we tell her about what happened and what's been going on." Phil tries to reason, but Riley isn't hearing it. She just sniffs loudly and jumps off of Phil's lap before running to her room and slamming the door shut. 

"Oh my god." Is all Dan can say. 

Phil just stares at him blankly, only able to muster one tangible thought.

_This is all my fault._

"I'm-Im gonna go shower." He mumbles, getting up and avoiding eye contact with Dan as he heads for the bathroom. 

-

Phil doesn't eat that night.

Neither him nor Dan attempt to talk to Riley. They feel it's not a good time to try and talk any sense into her. 

When Dan finally comes to bed Phil keeps his eyes closed and tries to pretend he's asleep, knowingly fully we that has never fooled Dan in the past.

"Phil." He mumbles. "Open your bloody eyes, you know that won't work on me."

Phil meets his stare, immediately letting all his thoughts slip.

"It's all my fault." He whispers. "I shouldn't have suggested she approach the kid."

"You couldn't have known, Phil." Dan reasons as he lies down and brushes his fingers through Phil's hair. "It's not like you know the kid."

"Yeah, but still-"

"But nothing." Dan stops him harshly. "So what if it didn't work out the way you intended? Years from now we'll look back at this and laugh because we're going to resolve this."

Phil sighs. Dan grows impatient.

"You want to know how I know?" He grabs Phil's chin gently and forces him to make eye contact.

"Because your damn good father, you hear me? So what you didn't expect the kid to lash out? What matters is that you're going to go from there tomorrow she fix it because that's what you do when our daughter is hurting. You stop at nothing to make it right."

"I don't know." Phil hiccups, on the verge of tears. "I was never as strong as you. What if we can't convince the teacher-"

"I really need to banish you from using the phrase _what if_." Dan cuts him off, voice softer now. He presses a finger to his own lips and wiggles his eyebrows, whispering now. "Just delete it from your vocabulary." 

"Dan I-" 

He's cut off yet again as Dan leans in and gently kisses him, reaching for his hand and squeezing it reassuringly. 

"Worry tomorrow." He slurs sleepily against his lips. "sleep tonight."

Phil gives in and pulls Dan close to him, burying his face in his neck. He doesn't fall asleep right away, but he feels slightly better, knowing that Dan will be right with him the whole time tomorrow, and he won't be alone. He'll never be alone.

Because that's what family does. 

-

They're both sat on a bench outside Riley's classroom. 

The walls are decorated with motivational posters and various art projects, labels by class. He studies them all, trying to get inside the minds of these kids and figure out why some of them are the way they are.

Of course it doesn't work. He can stare at finger paintings and self-portraits all he wants, he's still clueless.

Dan can tell he's nervous, he ways is for these things. He appreciates the a warm, reassuring hand on his shoulder, but that doesn't stop his leg from bouncing. 

Finally the clock strikes three and the kids are all dismissed. They remain seated, eyes watching the door and waiting for their daughter to appear.

When she does come out and see them she seems confused at first, until she remembers that Phil had said they would talk to her teacher. Her face doesn't light up or become hopeful, she just stares at the ground as she sits next to Dan.

Once the rest of the kids are gone a tall, stern looking lady greets them. She has grey hair tied up in a bun and thin, round glasses that rest so far on her nose they look as if they might fall off. 

"I take it you're Riley's parents." She observes as she glances at her. "Please, do come in."

"Stay here, we won't take long." Dan whispers. Phil can't think of anything to say so he just stares at her with a sad smile before sighing silently and following Dan into the classroom. 

"Feel free to take some chairs from the desks." She offers, walking behind her own desk and moving some papers to the side. "I understand you're here to discuss what happened yesterday."

"We are." Phil states plainly as he drags a chair over, noting how they are definitely not meant for his and Dan's bodies. 

"I'm Mrs. Maverick." She holds her hand out for Dan and Phil to each shake before they all sit down.

"So lately Riley's been having some...issues in class." She starts. "She's smart, smarter than most kids in my class, but she seems to be struggling with other students, and she failed to be honest with me about why she didn't have her project on the day it was due."

Dan and Phil tense up and look to each other. Dan nods and Phil takes it as a sign to speak.

"I mean no disrespect to you, Mrs. Maverick." He tries to state as professionally as he can. "But I can't help but wonder if you're aware of what's been happening in your class."

She opens her mouth to respond but Phil doesn't let her.

"My daughter has been entirely honest with you, and all you've done reprimanded her for things she didn't do." 

"She failed to explain why she didn't do her-"

"She did do it." Phil corrects her, voice low and coated with anger. "We did it together. My husband and I both sat down and listened to her as she read her report to us."

Mrs. Maverick stares back at him, looking like she's wanting to argue but holding back.

"I'll agree with you on one thing, she's brilliant as hell. I'm not going to pretend that we're perfect parents and that's not what we're here to tell you, but I won't stand by and let her come home every day in tears."

The room falls silent as Phil tries to catch his breath and hold back. He can't let himself get too angry. There are no perfect parents, and there are no perfect teachers. He can tell she has good intentions.

At least he's not nervous anymore. 

"So-" she pauses, glancing between Dan and Phil looking for some kind of indication that they're being anything less than serious. "I'm sorry, but if she did in fact do her project, then what happened to it?"

"She told you what happened to it." Dan speak up. "You just didn't want to listen."

"She told me one of my best students had taken it from her and destroyed it." She explains. "You're going to tell me you believe that."

"Just because a kid is smart doesn't mean he's an angel." Dan points out, raising his eyebrow with annoyance.

"According to Riley he's been getting kids into trouble and bullying them for weeks, and you just don't seem to notice whenever this happens."

Mrs. Maverick sighs in defeat, closing her eyes and pushing her fingers against her forehead as if she has a headache. 

"What would you suggest I do then." She snaps. "I have kids coming to me with one side of a story and the other and I have no way of knowing what happened. You tell me how I should read their minds."

Phil scoffs, leaning forward just a bit.

"Start paying attention." 

She looks offended but she doesn't respond to his comment. She just stares at her computer screen and lets out a breathy sigh. 

"I'll change her grade." She mumbles. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, I believe so." Dan nods as he stands up alongside Phil and ushers him out the door.

Riley's head pops up when she hears the door, her eyes wide. 

"She'll change your grade on your project." Phil tells her. "We explained to her what happened and from now on she should definitely pay a bit more attention to what is going on before she makes accusations."

Riley can't help but smile. 

"What do you say we take you out for ice cream, huh?" Dan chuckles as he tickles at her side. She stands abruptly and takes his hand, walking in between him and Phil as they head for the exit.

"Hey," Dan whispers in Phil's direction. "Good job in there."

Phil smiles. 

"It all worked out, just like you said it would."

Phil has no clue what he's doing when not comes to being a parent, not by a long shot. He makes mistakes, and so does Dan. But they fix those mistakes and move on. 

They love Riley more than anything, and at the end of the day, that's all that really matters. 

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr @lemonheadlester


End file.
